ECI asks govt to transfer officials in poll's wake

The Election Commission of India has asked the state government to shuffle officers to ensure that those connected with the conduct of elections do not serve in their home districts or places where they have served for long.

Haryana chief electoral officer Srikant Walgad on Thursday said that no officer connected with elections, directly or indirectly, should be allowed to continue in the present district of posting if she or he was posted in her or his home district, and, if she or he had completed three years in that district during the last four years or would be completing three years on or before May 31, 2014.

He said that these instructions covered not only officers appointed for specific election duties like district election officers, deputy district election officer, returning officers and assistant returning officers but also other district officers like additional district magistrates, deputy collectors, sub-divisional magistrates, tehsildars, block development officers or any other officer proposed to be deployed for election work.

In the police department, these instructions would be applicable to range IGs, DIGs, commandants of state armed police, SSPs, SPs, additional SPs, sub-divisional heads of police, inspectors or equivalent ranks who were responsible for deployment of police force in the district at election time.